Canadian team hopes Heatley not a sideshow

Hey there, time traveller!This article was published 17/8/2009 (2670 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA -- The Canadian Olympic men's hockey team wants no part of any Dany Heatley distraction.

That's why Hockey Canada's officials hope to talk to Heatley's agents, J.P. Barry and Stacey McAlpine, during the next day or two, asking the disgruntled Ottawa Senators star to clear the air before the Olympic team's summer orientation camp opens Monday in his hometown of Calgary.

"We would obviously prefer to get this out of the way as quickly as possible," Andre Brin, Hockey Canada's manager of communications, said Monday. "Once the camp starts, we want to worry about the camp. At some point, (Heatley) has to be available."

Executive director Steve Yzerman and coach Mike Babcock would clearly want all questions to be about the pursuit of gold at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Yet, with mum being the word ever since the two-time 50-goal scorer's demand for a trade leaked two months ago, fans and media have been wondering about Heatley's rationale for wanting out of the nation's capital.

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